Somewhere Far Beyond

So, I liked X-Men Apocalypse. Haven't had more than a few hours for it to sink in yet, but, you know, so far so good.

I like how the main villain's early actions make it understandable how someone could choose to follow him without personally desiring the end of the world. I mean... nuclear disarmament? Good start, buddy!

But

What if

What if there were a story where some mighty immortal, trapped under rocks for literally thousands of years, woke up, got to see the world

And had an overall positive reaction at first? Like,

They saw cars, and were impressed with the speed at which a machine, unaided by any beasts of burden, could move

And they saw trains, and got excited about trains, because trains are exciting

And then planes. Wow, planes. Planes! If I were that old, and had been asleep that long, planes would blow my mind.

And then someone tells them that smallpox isn't a thing anymore, and oh my good golly gumdrops, smallpox isn't a thing anymore! Again, coming from that far back in history, I'd be blown away.

So they're impressed by that, and by the scale on which people live now (because Cairo ca. 1984 is much, much bigger than Cairo back when there were still working out the issues in pyramid-building), and at first this mighty, immortal ruler, this ancient world-ruler, is just walking around, taking in the sights, and they're thinking, y'know, this is good. I like what you've done with the place. A+ work, kids.

And where they go from there kind of depends on the tone you want to set. Do they remain impressed? Do they decide that humanity, while it has progressed, still needs them at the helm for some reason? Do they see something, some darker side to this advancement, that convinces them that they need to do something big to change things?

Can't really get into that last one without discussing what it is that would convince them that the world needs re-making, and I'm not in the mood to make it something ridiculous like Adam Sandler movies (though, to be fair, "burn the world" is a perfectly understandable reaction to Adam Sandler's financial success), so... yeah. Fun thing to think about.

It's been a while. Things have gotten... kind of weird, since the last time I made a blog entry.

I haven't composed a new piece of music in more than a year, thanks to my computer's speakers and headphone jack breaking - followed, back in May, by the computer itself. About to go ahead and install a couple of programs for that on this borrowed computer, once I can verify that the owner is cool with that.

In less aggravating (but probably more important) news, some of you might have noticed I've flipped the gender marker on my profile. Not joking about that one, in case you were wondering. To be honest, I should have figured it out a bit before I did, but hey, I was busy.

Lastly, to leave things on a light note, finally bought and played through The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Ghirahim's a pushover, Demise is a filthy cheater, the game itself honestly talks too much, and the whole thing leaves me yearning for Skyrim's world design - not heavily-modded Skyrim, either. Pure vanilla, with all of its failings and, as I judged it at the time, emptiness.

So, I found the most adorably stupid Daily Mail article today - yes, I know, that's a tautology, but bear with me.

The article, you see, was about the Greenland Shark, a large, cold-water shark most closely related to dogfish, that looks like this;

Now, most of what the article said in describing this "fearsome creature" isn't factually incorrect - they have indeed been found with the remains of polar bears, reindeer, and seals in their stomachs.

The article just failed to mention one thing - the top speed of the Greenland shark is about 1.6 miles per hour - somewhat slower than a live polar bear, but considerably faster than a dead one. In keeping with the tendency for these sharks to be mostly or completely blind (due to a parasitic copepod that feeds on their corneal fluid), and their goofy, mostly-harmless appearance, the Greenland shark is believed to primarily be a scavenger.

As the delightful Wikipedia article on this shark put it;

Additionally, the shark's slow speed (max speed of 1.6 mph) limits its potential predation of seals to those that are asleep.

My crew is my family, Kirk. Is there anything that you would not do for your family?

That's the Captain speaking, right there.

2."Khan" was basically the hero anyway - he exposed a corrupt, war-mongering admiral, went toe-to-toe with the Federation to save his friends, and got shot in the back by Kirk and Scotty. Keep Burgerking Custardbath in the role, and it's just Sherlock Goes to Space with thirty minutes of desperately scrambling to make him the villain at the end.

The actor [Gal Gadot] that is slated to play Wonder Woman has confirmed that she is undergoing some serious training/physical conditioning for the movie.

Training that involves swords.

I may still have some doubts about her acting ability, based on what I know her to have been in - the Fast & Furious franchise isn't exactly known for nuanced performances, or actors capable of the like, but...

Well, if the long list of training material is any indication of her role in the movie - a list including swords, Kung Fu, swords, Ju-jitsu, and freaking swords you guys - then Wonder Woman is going to be a pretty entertaining character in a braindead action movie about Batffleck and some neck-snapping enthusiast wearing Superman like a cheap suit.

So, a few months ago, I tried to find some reference on the medieval Chola naval vessel known as the Thirisadai - essentially the equivalent of a battleship. At this time, I posted a blog entry, requesting aid in finding these references - the request was unsuccessful, which is hardly shocking; BZPower is not exactly a community built upon a shared fondness for naval history, nor is a high proportion of the site's population comprised of historians.

Anyway, I let that project rest for a while, as I tried to find the pictures I needed. Other ideas came up, I wrote some music, bought a didgeridoo, and the idea slid to the back of my mind, resurfacing earlier today.